China is working towards using quantum physics to beam light and matter across free space. It thus far claims to have achieved photon transport across a distance of 10 miles, over 25 times the previous U.S./European record. (Source: Fried Post)

Chinese researchers use quantum physics to "teleport" photons across 10 miles of empty space

Scientists at the University of Science and
Technology of China and Tsinghua University were able to stream
quantum information over 16 km of free space, approximately
10 miles. It's called teleportation, but the matter is not actually
moved, instead the quantum state of an object is transferred to
another (when something is done to the first object, it immediately
happens to the second one).

According to the Shanghaiist
website, "It's connecting two photons in a way that when one
photon is changed, the other changes simultaneously, allowing for
information to be transported between the two without using signals
or networks. The protons in this case interacted with '89% fidelity,'
meaning that there's a few more tests necessarily before anything can
seriously be 'beamed' anywhere."

While we can't "beam"
anything up, exactly -- this achievement by China has brought the
world the closest that it has ever come to attempting matter
teleportation. Because of this advancement we are closing in on
the ability to one day send and connect information from long
distance without signal interference.

The U.S. and European
Union have also conducted teleportation experiments. However,
the longest distance they have claimed thus far is quantum
teleportation over 600 m, which achieved across the Danube River
in 2004. The Chinese claim would be over 25 times as long a
teleportation event

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